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Is it me or are we moving away from this all being about just rolling some dice.
Don't get me wrong, I think all the automation speeds things up.
I just think we all look to A single click to do it for us and do all the math.
Am I just old and remember the old days. When we did it all without effects that worked.
And we did the math on the fly.
How do people run the game without it?
Curious.
Madman..
To me, all the automation enhances the game and lets us play more and worry about mechanics less. For instance, my group plays with me as DM using FG and with another DM on paper (and Skype). We typically play for 4 hours. In my sessions we often do 3 combats. In the other DM's sessions we do one combat.
So, yea, its all about die rolling, but automation and digitization reduces the parts of the game that don't add value of their own and let us tell our stories more efficiently.
I agree with LordEntrails. I DM mostly, and have a few friends who as a group, we have played for over 20 years, all they way back to 2AD&D. They aren't dumb guys, but a couple have never been good at getting the how to's down. FG allows them to decide what they want to do and just click a button. It does the math and says success or failure. We don't spend minutes first explaining that they need to find out what X skill is, roll a 20 sider, add it together, add this bonus/negative, and did you make it over the DC? It simplifies the mechanics so you can focus on the roleplaying. We still play in person every so often, (we live hours apart, in all directions), and it's true, we get a lot less accomplished than. And that isn't even mentioning all the other things, (leveling, inventory, etc) that FG does for us, making our lives so much easier and I find, the game more enjoyable.
I actually don't use most of the automation. I don't even have stats attached to the monsters in the Combat Tracker. (They are just text in a story entry.) The players have fun and the game keeps a good pace. I've found no problem with just rolling some dice so far. Forcing my players to do some math is a small trade off for the reduced prep time that allows me to convert material to 5e for us to play. (In other words, they know if I had to do a full FG setup for each adventure I wouldn't have the time so there would be no adventure.)
It is each to his own. If you don't want to use the automation then don't use it. FG can cope with all sorts of things and is versatile enough to allow you to play how you want to play.
I like the automation but others don't, some people like chat only others use voice, some people like super detailed maps and others are happy with a few lines on a gray background, some people want an effect for everything and others are happy to never create a single one.
An overlooked advantage of the automation in Fantasy Grounds is the benefits to the players. Having last gamed in 1990, I have been able to play in both 4E and 5E games using Fantasy Grounds without ever cracking a book. Even if you don't use any of the dice rolling automation, the links to the reference material are worth the price of admission. [Full disclosure: the price of admission helps pay my salary.]